OD might have some social horror-style elements to it, Kojima Productions trademarks seem to suggest
You mean like when I have to psyche myself up to order a takeaway?
Hideo Kojima’s latest foray into doing vaguely strange things with video games, OD, might include some social horror-esque mechanics, if some recent trademarks filed by Kojima Productions end up meaning the same kind of thing fans are interpreting them as.
If you missed The Game Awards, OD is the horror game the studio is working on in collaboration with Xbox. At the show, we got a typically bizarre trailer for it that’s already yielded some interesting details, an appearance from Jordan Peele, and the phrase “like a movie, but also a new form of media”, whatever that means.
Since showing off the game, it seems Kojima Productions has been busy applying for some trademarks related to it over in Japan, which have been spotted by Gematsu and lapped up by the same kinds of Reddit sleuths who’ve been busy digging into the trailer with the kind of attention-to-detail usually reserved for criminal investigations.
Among these are ones for a “Social Scream System” and a “Social Stealth System”, which are wonderfully alliterative if nothing else. In addition to linking these to the trailer’s tagline “for all players and screamers”, some fans seem to be interpreting them as hints that the game might have some kind of social horror element to it.
One of the most interesting theories put forth on Reddit revolves around some potential FromSoftware-style mechanics that would allow you to interact with other players or have them influence how events in your playthrough play out, while still allowing the game to retain a single player focus. Maybe a more advanced version of Death Stranding’s similarly named Social Strand System, which let players leave behind helpful stuff that could then pop up in other people’s games.
That said, ‘just please don’t let it be like Silent Hill Ascension’ seems to be the main desire among prospective players.
It’s also worth noting that Kojima has a bit of a thing with the letter S (who can blame him, it’s a nice letter), dating back to Metal Gear Solid’s S3 Plan.
If you’re a big Kojima fan, you’ll probably be glad to know that a documentary about him is coming out on Disney+ in spring next year.